*February, 18/2025* Saint Ramakrishna Paramhans, the promoter of human values, was born on 18 February 1836 in Kamarpukur village in Bengal province. His childhood name was Gadhdhar. Father's name was Khudiram and mother's name was Chandra Devi. According to his devotees, Ramakrishna's parents had experienced supernatural events and scenes even before his birth. His father Khudiram had a dream in Gaya in which he saw that Lord Gadhdhar (incarnation of Vishnu) told him that he would be born as his son. His mother Chandramani Devi also had a similar experience. She saw light entering her womb in the Shiva temple. Everyone was mesmerized by his childlike simplicity and enchanting smile. He was an ultimate spiritual saint. *Family* At the young age of seven, Gadhdhar lost his father. In such adverse circumstances, it became difficult to maintain the entire family. Financial difficulties arose. Child Gadhdhar's courage did not wane. His elder brother Ramkumar Chattopadhyay was the director of a school in Calcutta (Kolkata). He took Gadhdhar with him to Kolkata. Ramakrishna's inner self was very pure, simple and humble. He was far away from narrow-mindedness. He always remained engaged in his work. *Arrival at Dakshineshwar* Dakshineshwar Kali Temple Even after continuous efforts, Ramakrishna's mind could not concentrate on studies and teaching. In 1855, Ramakrishna Paramhansa's elder brother Ramkumar Chattopadhyay was appointed as the chief priest of Dakshineshwar Kali Temple (which was built by Rani Rashmoni). Ramakrishna and his nephew Hriday used to help Ramkumar. Ramakrishna was given the responsibility of decorating the idol of the goddess. After the death of Ramkumar in 1856, Ramakrishna was appointed as the priest of the Kali temple. After the death of Ramkumar, Sri Ramakrishna became more engrossed in meditation. He started seeing the idol of Kali Mata as his mother and the mother of the universe. It is said that Sri Ramakrishna had a vision of Kali Mata as the mother of the universe. Ramakrishna describes it saying "The house, the door, the temple and everything became invisible, as if there was nothing! And I saw an endless sea of light without an arrow, it was the ocean of consciousness. In whichever direction I looked, I could see only bright waves, which were coming towards me, one after the other. *Marriage* There was a rumour that Ramakrishna had lost his mental balance due to his spiritual practice at Dakshineswar. Ramakrishna's mother and his elder brother Rameshwar decided to get Ramakrishna married. They believed that marriage would restore Gadhdhar's mental balance and his attention would be diverted from spiritual practice due to the responsibilities that came with marriage. Ramakrishna himself told them that they could find a bride for him at Ramchandra Mukherjee's house in Jayrambati (3 miles north-east of Kamarpukur). In 1859, 5-year-old Saradamani Mukhopadhyay and 23-year-old Ramakrishna were married. After marriage, Sarada lived at Jayrambati and at the age of 18, she started living with Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar. Ramakrishna then lived the life of a hermit. *Vairagya and Sadhana* In due course, his elder brother also passed away. He was distressed by this incident. Seeing the impermanence of the world, renunciation arose in his mind. Despite not wanting to do so, he started worshipping and praying in the Sri Ramakrishna temple. He started meditating in Panchavati situated in Dakshineshwar. He became restless for God's darshan. People started considering him mad. Chandra Mani Devi, worried about her son's state of madness, got Gadhdhar married to Sharda Devi. After this, Bhairavi Brahmani came to Dakshineshwar. She taught him Tantra. While staying in Madhurbhaav, Thakur saw Shri Krishna. He gained the knowledge of Advaita Vedanta from Totapuri Maharaj and attained the state of Jivanmukta. After taking sanyaas, his new name became Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. *Arrival of devotees* As time passed, news of his rigorous spiritual practices and siddhis spread rapidly and the temple garden of Dakshineswar soon became a favourite haunt of devotees and wandering sannyasis. Some great scholars and famous Vaishnava and Tantric practitioners like Pandit Narayan Shastri, Pandit Padmalochan Tarkalakar, Vaishnavcharan and Gaurikant Tarakbhushan etc. continued to draw spiritual inspiration from him. He soon came into close contact with the well-known thinkers of the time who were leading the thought in Bengal. These include Keshavchandra Sen, Vijaykrishna Goswami, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar. Apart from this, there was another class of ordinary devotees whose most important persons were Ramchandra Dutt, Girishchandra Ghosh, Balaram Bose, Mahendranath Gupta (Master Mahashay) and Durgacharan Nag. Swami Vivekananda was his great disciple. *Illness and last life* Ramakrishna Paramhans started living in a state of Samadhi in the last days of his life. Hence, he started becoming physically weak. He used to laugh at the disciples' request to pay attention to his health, knowing their ignorance. His disciples used to call him Thakur. Ramakrishna's most beloved disciple Vivekananda wanted to do penance in some secluded place in the Himalayas for some time. When he went to the Guru to take permission for this, Ramakrishna said - Son, the people of our surrounding area are suffering from hunger. There is darkness of ignorance all around. People here keep crying and shouting and you remain immersed in the bliss of Samadhi in a cave in the Himalayas. Will your soul accept this? Due to this, Vivekananda started serving the poor Narayan. Ramakrishna was a great yogi, a great seeker and thinker. He considered the path of service to be divine and broad and saw unity in diversity. He wanted the security of the society through service. When the doctors told that the swelling in his throat was cancer and forbade him from taking Samadhi and talking, even then he smiled. Despite being stopped from getting treatment, Vivekananda continued to get treatment. Despite the treatment, his health kept deteriorating. *Mahasamadhi* In 1886, on the next day of Shravani Poornima, on the morning of Pratipada, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa left his body. Shortly before the dawn of 16 August, blissful Sri Ramakrishna left this mortal body and merged into his true form through Mahasamadhi.